Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1887-11-18
THE BEWILDERED HISTORIAN

HON. CLARK JLLsoN INDULGEs IN SOME
MORE OBSERVATIONS on THE HISTORY or
wHITGNGHAM.
Mr. Editor In a recent number of
your paper | called attention to some of the
most glaring errors ever found in any To-
cal history, all of which may be seen to-
day in the History Of Whitingham, writ
ten by Leonard Brown.
Mr. Brown claims TO reply by alluding to
matters not mentioned in my published ar
ticle and by quoting private correspond
ence, which no honorable gentlemen would
think Of doing and also by saying that
my criticism is "a choice bit Of ironically
sarcastic literature Ironical seems TO i'm
ply the expressing Of one thing and mean
ing another l hope Mr. Brown will not
hatter himself that | worship him as his
toran because | expose to the public his ut
ter ignorance Of history, grammar, or the
dictionary, by claiming that | don't mean
what [ say When Mr. Browns history
was issued in 1886 subscribed for ten cop
les. supposing that he had not overrated his
ability to write a better history than any
foreigner Z" but when discovered that it
was entirely unreliable / at once pointed
| out. in private correspondence, some Of the
| errors into which he had so innocentlv fall
| en- No wild bull ever looked upon a red
rag with more ferocity than he did upon
the person who dared to say that Leonard
| Brown had made a blunder He could dis
pute theories and jump up and down on
the kings English, but figures could not be
manipulated in the interest Of chronic mis-
representation, and 50 he found it exped-
ent to issue an errata wherein he corrected
some Of the errors that had been pointed
out to him Finding that a weekly edition
would be necessary to keep up with those
who were pointing out his mistakes, he
concludes 10 operate, with the aid of a
| henchman, on more comprehensive plan
by getting out a supplement wherein he
could SHARPLY criticise' my centennial al
dress aud whine over the twenty private let
ters he says | have written him. Those
| letters seem to give him the nightmare in
| the daytime, whereby he sees the CORY
blade that led him to shout, Hold, enough,
more than year ago.
Mr. Brown has a charming faculty Of
claiming that he is not responsible for what
he says but ! think the people of Whiting
| ham will readily locate the responsibility of
the statement that one Of the main objects
| Of his supplement is to correct the errors
| in his history. ! am aware that it requires
| great care to publish book entirely free from
errors but when historian deliberately is
sizes a publication Of less than 2j0 pages
| puts his name 10 it. atiiNes "A title 10 that
name. and sells the book for twice what il
is worth and in less than two years finds it
convenient to get out a supplement of 30
pages. one Of the main objects of which ne
says. is to correct the errors in his history,
it looks much like trying to grin at his own
joke
| have said that the tract of land called
| Cumberland township was not identical
with the tract named Whitingham, and
| defy any person 10 show that it was Doc
umentary evidence in this case is necessary.
| but it does not exist. 1t must be shown
that Cumberland township had a defined
| position on the face Of the earth before
| even a crank would dare assume that it was
| Identical with any town in the state. How
| is it about Whitingham That town was
surveyed. its boundaries established and its
name given i'll a charter issued by authori-
| ty of the crown six years before the Dec
laration Of Independence, and about
century before Leonard Brown proclaimed
| that he knew more about Whitiugham in
| its early DAYS than those who surveyed it
and gave it its name Whether this char
ter was satisfactory to Mr.. Brown or not, it
fixed the boundary Of certain tract Of
| land. six miles square and named it Whit
| ingham, and it remains So described by
the same boundaries, called by the same
name and governed by officers bearing the
same title as prescribed by the charter Of
| no. If there should be any dispute about
the boundary or name of Whitingham to-
| day to be settled in the courts, the original
charter would be resorted to at once and its
provisions respected by the highest court
in the state This Mr.. Brown well knows
and if he had found the New York charter
himself there would have been an advance
in the price Of hoop iron in 1880 He un-
dertakes 70 throw dust in the eyes Of his
readers, and at the same time show his
learning, by telling what may be found in
Slade's state papers but he is not smart
enough 10 comprehend the fact that Mr.
Slade never knew that Whitingham had a
charter any more than he did till it was
shown him in $50. When Mr.. Brown shows
up the charter Of Cumberland his twaddle
about that mystic town may be considered ;
but his bare assertions need an errata, and
probably a supplement, before they bear
the mark of inspiration.
CLARK Ju-LsoN.
Worcester, Mass, Nov. D. 1887.